Vehicle toy



June 21, 193s. E. E. KNUTSON' 2,121,152

VEHICLE TOY Filed DSC. '7, 1937 INVENTOR E'R/c E. KNUTSo/v /h` BY 2/ .7 l ATTRNEYS Cir Patented June 21, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VEHICLE TOY Application December 7, 1937, Serial No. 178,460

12 Claims.

This invention relates to toys, and more particularly to vehicle toys and especially the wheel and axle mountings thereof.

The primary object of my invention is to genl erally improve vehicle toys, particularly inexpensive toys made of heavy gauge sheet metal and generally, though not necessarily, of the motorless or pull type.

The wheels are preferably of the solid wood type. They are mounted on axles extending from one side wall to the opposite side wall of the toy Where the axles are riveted in place outside the walls. The Walls simulate mud-guard enclosures and the wheels are located inside these walls. It is necessary to space the wheels apart on the axle. Regular collars are too expensive to be used with this type of toy. To place a tubular spacer around the axle between the wheels is also expensive. To merely excise or pinch the metal of the axle just inside of each wheel is unsatisfactory because it tends to catch and prevent rotation of the Wheel or to wear the same excessively, especiallywhen using wood wheels. It is sometimes possible to draw the mud-guard portion of the body downwardly on the inside as well as on the outside of the wheel, thus forming a housing which limits movement of the wheel toward either side, but this increases the expense of manufacture and the expense of the dies as well as the machine load for running the dies. More breakage and waste in production results, and the freedom of design of the body shape is greatly handicapped,

It is a more particular object of my invention to overcome the foregoing diiculties and disadvantages. In accordance with my invention, a convenient part of the toy is shaped toforma lug which is bent inwardly to a point adjacent the inner side wall of the wheel and this lug functions to locate the Wheel in the desired axial position.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as will hereinafter appear, my invention consists in the toy vehicle elements and their relation one to the other as hereinafter are more particularly described in the specification and sought to be defined in the claims. The specification is accompanied by drawing in which:

Fig. l is a section taken in elevation through a toy embodying features of my invention;

Fig. 2 is an inverted plan View at the forward end thereof;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken in the plane of the line 3-3 0f Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an inverted plan view showing a modied construction at the forward end of the vehicle;

Fig. 5 is a similar View showing still another modification;

Fig. 6 is an inverted plan view showing the invention applied to a streamlined motorcycle toy; and

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the same. i

Referring to the drawing, each toy comprises* a vehicle with side walls S between which extend an axle A carrying Wheels W freely rotatable thereon. The wheels are prevented from outward movement by the side walls S and are prevented frorn inward movement by suitable lugs L bent inwardly to points near the sides of the wheels. In this way, the desired location of the wheel against axial movement is obtained in an exceedingly inexpensive manner.

Considering the invention in greater detail and referring rst to Figs. l, 2, and 3 of the drawing, the toy there shown simulates a delivery truck. It comprises a body I2 formed of sheet metal and havingl an openable door M pivotally related thereto by sidewardly projecting tongues received in slots I. Similar tongues project sidewardly near the upper edge of the door and are received in open slots [8, thus permitting opening of the door by preliminarily elevating the same. The body I2 is mounted on a chassis 20. This is formed of one main piece of heavy gauge sheet metal bent to form a cab roof 22, cab walls 24, and an engine hood 26. The sides of the chassis receive the body l2, this being secured in place by appropriate bent tongue and slot connections 28 and 3B. Near the front end of the truck the side walls are drawn or cupped outwardly to form simulated mud-guards or wheel housings 32. Near the rear end of the chassis the side walls are pressed outwardly to form simulated mud-guards or wheel housings 34. This outward disposition of the metal at the rear wheels is carried forwardly and rearwardly, as indicated at 36 and 38, thus forming simulated running boards 4D. 45

The front end of the truck chassis is completed by a radiator simulation 42 with which may be integrally formed a bumper simulation 44. The radiator simulation is secured in'place by tongues 45 passing through slots 48.

In accordance with the present invention, these tongues it are made extra long and are bent outwardly to a point adjacent the inner side of the Wheel W, as is most clearly shown in Fig. 2. The

tip of the tongue may be curled around to present a rounded surface to the wheel.

The axles A are simply rods of uniform bore. They pass through the side walls and are riveted at the outer ends, as is indicated at 50. This locks the axle against movement. The wheels W are preferably made of solid discs of wood because these better simulate automobile wheels and because they do not scratch the surface on which the toy is used. They are drilled during manufacture to receive the axle and to rotate freely thereon. This makes it unnecessary for the axle to turn freely in the body, and that in turn simplifies the riveting operation.

The rear wheels are held against inward movement by lugs 52 which are bent inwardly and then downwardly, as is best shown in Fig. 3.

These lugs prevent inward movement of the wheels on the axle Without interfering with free rotation thereof.

In Fig. 4, I show a modified construction for locating the front wheels. In this case, the radiator simulation 60 is held in place by bent tongues 62 used solely for that purpose. The wheels are prevented from inward movement by lugs 64 which project from the bottom edge of the toy at the forward end thereof and which are bent rearwardly to come within the inner sides of the wheels.

Y In Fig. 5, I show still another modification which may, in some cases, prove more economical in the use of metal than the arrangement shown in Fig. 4. In this case, the locating lugs 66 are cut from the bottom edge of the toy by slits extending generally parallel to the bottom edge. The resulting strips which initially extend inwardly toward one another and are integral with the edges 68 are bent rearwardly to points just inside the front wheels of the vehicle. 'Ihis bending of the lugs is indicated by the dotted lines 10.

In Figs. 6 and 7, I show the application of my invention to a simulated streamlined motorcycle toy. The shell of the toy is formed, in the main, from a single piece of heavy gauge sheet metal which is bent downwardly to form a top wall l2 and side walls 14. The side walls form wheel housings or mud-guards at the front and rear wheels. A handle bar simulation 16 is added near the forward end, and seat and luggage carrier simulations 18 and 8D are added near the rear end of the motorcycle shell. Headlight and taillight simulations may be added if desired, as shown at 82 and 84 respectively. A bottom or foot pedal plate 86 is secured to the bottom of the shell by bent tongues 88 and terminates in a pair of rearwardly and downwardly extending spaced arms 90. These function to steady the toy against tipping over.

The wheels are mounted on short axles which pass entirely through the motorcycle shell and which are riveted on the ends. In this case, the wheels would not be capable of very much sideward movement, but any sideward movement is of more critical importance than when dealing with a four-wheeled toy. Furthermore, the appearance of the toy is better if the wheel housing is made generous in width instead of being held close to the sides of the wheels. To prevent side- Ward movement of the wheels within the shell, the small symmetrical lugs 92 are bent inwardly at the bottom edge of the shell to points adjacent the sides of the wheels.

It is believed that the construction and operation as well as the advantages of my improved wheel mounting for vehicle toys will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description. The invention is particularly applicable to toys of a very inexpensive type, and even a small saving is, therefore, important. In the present case, the saving amounts to approximately ten per cent of the manufacturing cost of the toy.

While I have shown and described the toy as a motorless or pull toy, I have also applied the invention to motor-driven toys, particularly to the front wheels thereof, the rear wheels being secured to the axle because of the necessity of applying the drive from the spring motor to the wheels, this being through the axle.

It will be apparent that while I have shown and described my invention in several forms, many changes and modifications may be made in the structures disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention defined in the following claims. In some claims I refer to the lugs as being bent in from the toy shell, and in such case the term shell is generic and includes the entire toy including the chassis, if there be a separate chassis. The term chassis is used for convenience in some claims, and signifies that the toy has a distinguishable chassis portion.

I claim:

1. A vehicle toy comprising a shell having side walls, an axle passing through said side walls, the ends of said axle being upset to hold the same in place, a wheel mounted on said axle and freely rotatable thereon, and means to limit the axial movement of the wheel along the axle, said means including a lug bent inwardly from the shell to a point at the side of the wheel.

2. A toy vehicle comprising a shell, an axle passing through and carried by the side walls of the shell, a plurality of wheels freely rotatably mounted on said axle inside said side walls, and means to hold said wheels apart and near the side walls of the vehicle, said means comprising tongues having the ends thereof bent to a position at the inner side walls of the wheels.

3. A toy vehicle made up of two or more parts assembled together by tongue connections, an axle passing through and carried by the side walls of the vehicle, wheels rotatably mounted on said axle inside said side walls, and means to hold said wheels apart and near the side walls of the vehicle, said means comprising the aforesaid tongue connections.

4. A toy vehicle comprising two or more parts assembled together by tongue and slot connections, an axle passing through and carried by the side walls of the vehicle, the ends of said axle being riveted outside the said walls of the vehicle to hold the axle in place, a plurality of solid Wood wheels freely rotatably mounted on said axle inside said side walls, and means to hold said wheels apart and near the side walls of the vehicle, said means comprising two of the aforesaid tongues having the ends thereof bent to a position at the inner side walls of the wheels.

5. A toy vehicle comprising wheels, a chassis having mud-guards with side walls located outside the wheels, axles passing through the mudguards, said wheels being freely rotatable on the axles, outward movement of the wheels being prevented by the mud-guards, and additional means to prevent inward movement of the wheels, said means comprising lugs of metal bent to points at the inside of the wheels.

6. A toy vehicle comprising solid wood wheels, a chassis having sheet metal sides of which approximately semi-circular part are displaced outwardly to form simulated mud-guards with side walls located outside the wheels, axles passing through the mud-guards and riveted in place, said wheels being freely rotatable on the axles, outward movement of the wheels being prevented by the mud-guards, and additional means to prevent inward movement of the wheels, said means comprising lugs of metal formed integrally with the chassis and bent inwardly to points at the inside of the wheels.

'7. A toy vehicle comprising wheels, a chassis having mud-guards with side walls located outside the wheels, a body mounted on top of said chassis, axles passing through the mud-guards and riveted in place, said wheels being freely rotatable on the axles, outward movement of the wheels being prevented by the mud-guards, and

, additional means to prevent inward movement of the wheels, said means comprising lugs of metal formed integrally with the chassis and bent inwardly from the top edges of the chassis beneath the body and thence downwardly to points at the inside of the wheels.

8. A simulated streamlined motorcycle toy comprising mud-guard enclosures with side walls, axles passing through said side walls and riveted in place, a wheel freely rotatable on each axle, and lugs bent inwardly from the side walls toward each wheel to limit the wheel against axial movement on the axle.

9. A toy vehicle having front wheel mudguards including side walls, an axle extending through said side walls, wheels freely rotatable on said axle within the side walls, and lugs of metal extending from the truck vehicle to points just inside the side walls of the front wheels.

10. A toy vehicle having sheet metal sides of which approximately semi-circular parts are displaced outwardly to form simulated front wheel mud-guards including side walls, an axle extending through said side walls and riveted to hold the same in place, wood wheels freely rotatable on said axle within the side walls, and lugs of metal formed integrally with and bent rearwardly from the front end of the truck vehicle to points just inside the side walls of the front wheels.

11. A toy automotive vehicle having a separate radiator simulation secured to and closing the front end thereof, front wheel mud-guard simulations formed integrally with said vehicle and including side walls, an axle extending through said side walls, wheels freely rotatable on said axle within said side walls, and means to prevent inward axial movement of the wheels, said means including parts bent rearwardly from said radiator simulation to come to points near the inner side walls of the wheels.

12. A toy automotive vehicle having a separate radiator simulation secured to and closing the front end thereof, front wheel mud-guard simulations formed integrally with said vehicle and including side walls, an axle extending through said side walls and riveted on the ends to hold the same in place, solid wood wheels freely rotatable on said axle within said side walls, and means to prevent inward axial movement of the wheels, said means including elongated tongues bent rearwardly from said radiator simulation and passing through slots at the front end of the vehicle, said tongues being bent to hold the radiator simulation in place and also to come to points near the inner side Walls of the wheels.

l ERIC E. KNUTSON. 

